A fire broke out at the newly restored Manila Metropolitan Theater in Ermita on Friday morning, the Manila Public Information Office confirmed.
Preliminary reports from the Bureau of Fire Manila indicated that the fire started at 8:55am.
The fire had reached second alarm status due to the thickness of the smoke before firefighters were able to put it out at 9:41am.
Firefighters have yet to release any information regarding the cause of the fire as of the time of writing.
The historic theater, said to be the oldest in the country, was inaugurated on December 10, 1931 and is famed for its Art Deco architectural style. Over the years the building had fallen into squalor and was closed in 1996.
The theater reopened in December last year after years of massive rehabilitation efforts meant to restore it to its former glory.
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